On September 11, 2001, Lt. Gen. Mahmud Ahmed, director of Pakistan’s ISI, was in Washington DC, having breakfast at the U.S. Capitol with the chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Senate. Bob Graham (D) and Rep. Porter Goss. After the first plane struck the North Tower, Goss’s aide handed him a note. An additional note informing of the second plane prompted Goss to exclaim, “That’s it, we’re outta here!”
The next morning, Lt. Gen. Ahmed met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who confronted him forcefully: “You are either 100 percent with us or 100 percent against us—there is no gray area! Help us and you’ll enjoy the privilege of drawing breath in the 21st century, or be prepared to live in the fucking Stone Age!”
Ahmed was soon whisked to CIA headquarters where Director George Tenet firmly stated that if Mullah Omar did not turn Osama bin Laden over, the U.S. military would unleash all its might on the Taliban. For the next two days, Ahmed endured a barrage of meetings with U.S. officials who vehemently and menacingly demanded Pakistan’s cooperation.
One of these officials was then-Sen , who was especially insulting: “The events on Tuesday changed everything! We’re all in, and whoever thinks he can play both sides will be fucking himself and his people!” Biden seethed.
“I’ve heard enough about this bullshit code this Mullah Omar has. You straighten him out! You’re the most powerful man after [Pakistani President Pervez] Musharraf in the entire country!”
Shockingly, Biden responded to Ahmed’s insistence that a pragmatic approach would work best with the Taliban by spewing, “The Taliban oppresses women, don’t it? You’re soundin’ a lot like a woman to me right now, with this fucking shit about being diplomatic with the Taliban. Be a man, General, and choose! Either tell Omar to get fucked, or instead explain to your citizens why they lost everything and got wiped off the earth!”
Ahmed had now had enough. He was furious at the gall and audacity of America, expecting Pakistan to capitulate to whatever its demands and not think for a second about its own people and interests. After returning to Pakistan, he was disgusted to see that Musharraf had been successfully intimidated.
After meeting with CIA station chief Robert Grenier and assuring him that he would soon seal the deal with Omar, Ahmed rushed to Omar’s office and was welcomed by al-Qaeda’s Mahfouz Ould al-Walid (Abu Hafs the Mauritanian), who was working as a senior advisor to the Taliban.
Abu Hafs took notes as Ahmed dispensed his advice to Mullah Omar: “Under absolutely no circumstances should you ever hand over Sheikh Osama,” he insisted. “Protect him at any and all costs!”
According to Abu Hafs, the Pakistani spymaster adamantly urged Mullah Omar to avoid handing Osama over, and actually offered tactical advice: “If the United States does attack, they will likely rely on aerial bombardment rather than putting soldiers on the ground."
Given his access to high-ranking U.S. officials, and shared intelligence, Ahmed even pledged to brief Mullah Omar as to what those likely targets would be and otherwise help in any other way necessary.
Just before departing, as Ahmed and Abu Hafs chatted, Ahmed recounted Biden’s comments alone and, clearly infuriated, shouted, “This man had the nerve to look me in my face and accuse me of being a female! Don’t ever let these sisterfuckers [Urdu equivalent of “motherfuckers”] make such claims! Prove we are real men and never, ever, ever give up the Sheikh!”
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